


Surprising a Ben-Hassrath

by CoffeeCats



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: somewhere in the depths of skyhold solas greatly disapproves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 18:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16645190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeCats/pseuds/CoffeeCats
Summary: Bull gives King the world, so she decides it's time to return the favor.





	Surprising a Ben-Hassrath

Three doors.

Three doors were all that stood between King and a safe end to this secret mission of hers. It was arguably the hardest section of Skyhold to cross unnoticed, but she’d made it this far and wasn’t about to give up or get careless now. It was the middle of a cold, blustery winter night and nearly everyone was tucked away in their own rooms away from the drafts of the main halls. Or so she hoped.

A faint scratching came from the box she was carrying and she gently shushed it, waiting for the noises to stop before carefully cracking the door to the main hall open as quietly as possible. From her odd vantage point and in the low light of the few torches still burning she couldn’t see much of the room, but she didn’t hear any sounds of life or movement.

Carefully – _so_ carefully – she eased the door open and slipped into the main hall. She didn’t see anyone in the room and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Truth be told, she hadn’t put any thought into what she was going to say if someone saw her or decided to ask what she was doing or what she was holding. Lie, perhaps. Or try to be intimidating. Bull had told her on more than on occasion that she was a terrible liar so intimidation might be the better option anyway.

She hurried up the middle of the hall, trying to get to the door that led upstairs as quickly as she could. For the first time in memory she was envious of her smaller and lighter companions and their natural ability to walk more quietly than she could.

_Just a few more steps… few more steps…_

Opening a door had never been more relieving than pulling open the door to her personal stairwell. She ducked inside as soon as the door was open just wide enough, turning around to pull it shut again with extra care not to slam it. It wouldn’t do to have this all spoiled by a carelessly slammed door. The latch clicked softly into place and she let out a silent giggle of nerves. She’d done it. A stealthy mission, admittedly not her strong suit, complete and without anyone noticing.

She turned around to head up the stairs, to find the man who was the point of this entire venture, and nearly screamed as she came face-to-face with the massive, hulking shape of Iron Bull in the darkness. The scream was turned into a muffled yelp as she clapped a hand over her own mouth.

“ _Vashedan!_ ” she hissed.

“Sneaking around on me? I’m heartbroken.”

His voice sounded as loud as thunder as it echoed around the stairwell and with each reverberation she was more certain that everyone in all of Thedas had heard it. A rattling squeal came from the box tucked under her arm and before Bull could ask what it was, she closed the gap between them and clamped a hand over his mouth.

“ _Shush_. Go upstairs before you wake the whole damn keep with that voice of yours.”

Bull snorted a laugh and then licked her palm. She snatched her hand away and smacked his shoulder.

“You ass. Go,” she said, shoving him back up the stairs.

“Your wish is my command,” he said, a little louder than was necessary.

The scratching from inside the box became more and more incessant as the two hurried up the stairs to King’s private quarters. Bull tried once to turn and look at it, but after King shoved him again he just kept moving.

As soon as he crested the final step he turned to face her, walking backward into the room, and asked, “Ok, do I actually want to know what’s in that box?”

“You’re going to _love it_ ,” King said. She hurried over to the bed and hopped onto it, crossing her legs to make a sort of table for the box. She enthusiastically patted the empty section of bed in front of her.

After all the sneaking and all the string pulling her quest was finally coming to an end and she was thrilled. It was almost certain Bull was picking up on all the excitement, but she hoped she could surprise him with the actual gift. He was refusing to come sit down, though she couldn’t tell if he was waiting for an explanation or if he was just tormenting her.

“Come _here_ ,” she said, wiggling impatiently. Another squeak came from the box at the sudden movement.

With a small sigh, he came and sat and she immediately shoved the box into his hands, clasping her own in her lap to keep them from tapping impatiently on her knees. Bull eyed the box for a few seconds, no doubt feeling the movement from within, before fixing her with a look that signaled the start of a battle of wills. She frowned at him as soon as he recognized the look and knew he was trying to bait her into telling him what it was.

Whether seconds or minutes or eons passed in the silence, King had no idea, but every moment of it was agonizing torture and she knew that Bull knew it. She groaned, unable to take any more of the waiting.

“ _Katoh_ ,” she whined. “Open it before I ruin the surprise!”

Bull laughed, the sound easily filling the entire room. “ _That’s_ what all it took?”

King kicked a foot into his thigh. “Open it before I take it back!”

He pulled the top off the box, still laughing until he looked inside it. Silence reigned after he sucked in a breath of surprise and he blinked once before slowly sitting the box lid down. Amber eyes blinked up at him and a tiny, toothy mouth opened to chirrup at the sudden brightness.

“King.”

“Bull.”

“Is this—"

“It’s not a _dragon_ dragon, but yes.”

He poked a finger into the box and the tiny wyvern tried, ineffectually, to bite the offending digit. Bull’s face split into a wide grin and he looked back up at King as the little lizard gnawed on the end of his finger.

“Kadan, you are the fucking best.”

**Author's Note:**

> King's my female qunari inquisitor and I feel like through her Valo-Kas buddies, she's got someone who knows someone who knows someone who can smuggle her a tiny baby wyvern.
> 
> The wyvern's a little 3-legged runt and Bull immediately names her Stump.


End file.
